Whiskey and Scotch

Chapter 5

Gary and I walked across the lawn to join the other islanders.

Hannah looked excited. "My first missive from our Island Overlords! 'Islanders, it's time for "Two Truths and a Lie!" Each of you will list three facts about yourselves, with--"

Lottie interrupted. "And we have to guess which one's the lie, right?"

"Yes! Hashtag, 'hidden truths,' hashtag, 'truths emerge.' I love that!"

Rahim groaned. "I'm so bad at reading people."

"Don't worry about it," I reassured him. "It's just another way for us to get to know each other. If you lose we'll just throw you in the pool, that's all."

He laughed. "I'd like to see someone try."

"Challenge accepted!" said Bobby, rubbing his hands together.

We reached the firepit and Hope volunteered to start off.

"Let's see, two truths and one lie? Fact one: I sing in a choir. Fact two: I make an amazing roast dinner. Fact three: I once got kicked out of a water park."

The other Islanders started debating amongst themselves which fact was a lie. I stayed silent, concentrating more on figuring out what I would do when it was my own turn.

Finally Noah suggested that the water park was a lie, which turned out to be wrong. Apparently she couldn't cook at all, which seemed to disappoint him.

Noah then took his turn, and Hope also got his fact wrong.

Either they're both good liars, or they haven't really figured each other out yet. It's just a game though, there's no point in getting upset over it.

Marisol went next. "I salsa dance, I've been to prison, and, um, I'm allergic to pineapple."

Rahim was quick to point out that she had said "um" before the pineapple fact, which she had previously suggested was an indication of a lie.

"Yeah, I actually absolutely love pineapple," she said. "The juice, the scent..."

"The side effects?" I smirked.

She laughed. "Yes, the side effects are a major plus." Some of the others smiled knowingly.

Finally it was my turn.

"Okay, let's see... I've broken bones on two separate occasions, I once threw up on a guy I liked, and I've flown a plane."

Marisol studied me intently. "Interesting... she could be throwing in some tricks with the first two facts... like maybe she only broke a bone once, or she threw up on someone but didn't actually like him... these are good ones, Josie."

I gave her a cryptic smile.

"Flying a plane seems like too obvious a lie – it's something most people haven't done, whereas the other ones are more believable. So I think that one's true," Priya said.

"That doesn't make sense," Gary said. "The one that's less believable is the truth?"

"That makes perfect sense, actually," Marisol said. "You'd be more likely to point to that one as the lie, which means that if it were untrue it would be too obvious. Kind of like my prison one."

"So it's down to the other two, either of which could be a trick answer," Bobby said. "Josie seems like a really fun person, so it's plausible that she could have gotten drunk at a party and threw up on a guy..."

"And I know there are plenty of people who have broken bones multiple times."

"Bobby, she's your partner. You get the last say."